A Mission and A New Look

I am on a mission!

"What is this mission?" you ask--

SAVE THE PICTURE BOOK

After reading the New York Times's article this October discussing the drastic decline in picture book publishing, and parents strongly urging their children to only read chapter books, I found myself flashing back to my past.

Reflecting back to all those times I scanned the shelves at my home, sat on the floor and flipped the pages to view illustration after illustration, I wondered who I would have been without "The Gorilla Did It," "Where the Wild Things Are," "The Polar Express," or "Goodnight Moon."

With the pictures on the pages I created my own stories; I saw my room become a forest, I waited late in the evening to hear the trains whistle outside my own frosted window, and in the evenings now--with the light gone--I whisper "Good night mittens and good night kittens..."

So to hear parents are saying, "My kid doesn't need books with pictures anymore." I have to ask what pictures they are creating for their own lives?

Which brings me to my mission to save the picture book. If you would like to help me on this mission, the first step is to share.

Take a fresh look at the picture book. Go to a bookstore, library, or shelf and pick a picture book up. Go ahead read it aloud and let the images impress your eyes. Next take the time to share the title of the picture book you read in the comment box below.

More to come later.

Web Spinning

If you have ever heard the storyteller Carmen Deedy tell the story--live--of her first encounter with a librarian, than you'll understand why I picked up "Charlotte's Web."

It's interesting I never read this book in my youth, considering it holds a key line that my family and friends find vital in knowing me: "The quickest way to spoil a friendship is to wake somebody up in the morning before he [or she, in my case] is ready."(p. 35) And as such I found myself drawn to Charlotte's character.

I don't know what I was thinking I would find in the old hard cover book, which had my sisters name scrawled delicately in crayon as only a child can do. But I set off on an adventure with the intent to save Wilbur, and instead found myself entranced by the life (or web) I've been spinning for myself.

For the past while now, I have felt as though I have just been hanging on. Hanging by a thread, as they say. I have been aching for those days of youth when the choices were merely who you would play with that day and not which bill can wait to be paid. And so I found my response surprising when I read the line, "The world is a wonderful place when your young."(p. 18) I thought to myself, 'yes it was, but it most certainly still is.' And as I read along, Charlotte began to trim back her web to make room for the words that would show the world how an ordinary pig named Wilbur is some-terrific-humble pig. With each new word Charlotte created, I began feeling as though I could see through the web I've been casting around myself.

Sometimes we just need a new narrative for ourselves (as my mom would say). It's as easy as changing three little words: bored, tired, and frustrated become excited, poised and adventurous. So my new narrative is not Wilbur's, but Charlotte's children began building my web to read: Denver is excited, poised, and drawn to the adventurous day.

What does your narrative say?

Percy Jackson and the Olympians

Last month I had a friend staying with me. I noticed her reading the Percy Jackson series by Rick Riodan. I had been told by various people (kids and adults alike) that I should read these very popular books, and so I quickly picked them up when my friend was finished. A week later I found myself finished with the five book series and a bit perplexed.

First, lets say that I highly enjoyed all the Greek mythology used through the series. I made the effort to write down all that I need to go back and look up. I love it when a book makes you search for more. Riodan's interpretation of the attitude of the Gods and the representation of monsters was creative and also thought provoking. The reading itself was fast paced and I found myself wanting to get home to finish the story instead of going out with friends or cooking myself dinner. But the use of first person narrative did throw me a bit. I found I was just waiting for action more than fully processing the story. As such, I don't remember much detail in the story, just plot. That is until I got to book five and this is where I became perplexed.

Riodan wrote a line that I realized I had been hoping for. The line created the books title, "Home, Hearth, the last Olympian." (p.103) This poignant phrase (all five words) made my heart skip. He got it, I thought to myself. Story is what keeps us going, what makes us live, what makes us jump, laugh, cry, and think. Story connects us together even when we don't know one another.

Riodan continued my suspense and I was so excited when I read, Gods need mortals to keep them alive. He was so close and I was ready; ready for Story to be given justice. And then Riodan missed his opportunity. The opportunity to express that story lives and we all must keep it going. Instead he brushed by what could have been a highly significant moment and paraphrased, "Hope survives best at the hearth." (p.308)

I was confused. I enjoyed the books, but I felt misguided. I feel as though Riodan didn't truly know the story he was writing. In the end, he missed the point. He focused on the "heroes journey," when the true importance was the heroes that reside in each human, waiting to come out even with out the powers of Zeus, Posiden, or Hades racing through our veins.

And who knows, maybe I'm wrong. Maybe Riodan knew along what he was writing. Maybe he was just waiting silently like Hearth, waiting for someone to notice. And maybe all will be written in his second series coming this October. The first book entitled "The Lost Hero." Because lets not forget, "Hope does not leave without being given permission." (p228). Hearth will always be the last Olympian. And if we surround ourselves around her, warm ourselves by her fire and tell our stories, then hope will never die. Story will live forever.

Harry Potter Fandomtastic!

Recently, I have been consumed with my "Hogwartian" studies. Many may catch onto this term, but to those who do not understand, it means that for the past six months I have immersed myself (yet again) in the Harry Potter canon. For years this story has played an influential role in my life, and this mid July I found myself preparing to speak on the subject, while also surrounding myself and intermingling with over 2,400 other Harry Potter fans.

Infinitus 2010 was a celebration of the Harry Potter story and a time to play in the newly built (and might I add, stunningly beautiful and detailed) Wizarding World of Harry Potter. I spent my time at the conference between lectures, Live Wizards Chess, a few Wrock shows, A Very Potter Sequel--the musical, and just watching in fascination at all the costumed Death Eaters who were the life of the party.

I could write pages and pages on the Harry Potter books, but I won't do that here. What I want to discuss is the most important element that sprung from the books pages--THE READERS RESPONSE.

No matter your view of the story, there is no denying that Harry Potter took on a life unlike anything we have seen in literary history. There are multiple factors that provided this story to be grasped by so many people in so many different countries--technology, word of mouth, the need for play, and the desire to hear our misplaced folklore anew--all played a role. But it was the reader that acted when the book was closed.

Harry Potter fans have created the most prolific artistic, activist, and human response than any other fan base to my knowledge (Harry Potter Alliance, HPEF, etc). As I watched and listened to fans at the conference it became apparent to me that Harry Potter studies goes further than the words on the pages. I had known this before going to the conference (for that matter I was speaking on just that topic), but to see it in action, meet the people who have played their role, and to recognize my own involvement, was inspiring. My only question now is can the fandom survive?

And so I am attaching my conference paper to my Academic page (top right corner) for those who would like to read it. I recommend taking the time to prepare a small bowl of Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans (Grass being my favorite) and a small glass of Butterbeer, before endeavoring on my crazy antics.

Meeting Orson Scott Card

There is a trepidation that comes when you are about to meet a person who has been so influential in your life and that person doesn’t know it. A mixture of pure excitement, nervousness, and an over whelming fear of making a fool of yourself takes over. And then an oddity occurs. You walk into the room and sit down, and the person who, I can only say has been like the Wizard of OZ to me, steps out from behind the curtain. The person I admire and thought all knowing and perfect was unmistakably HUMAN, mixed with oddities and quirks (and a few opinions I don't agree with) and yet none of my trepidation left, for my respect for the author Orson Scott Card endures.

Late June I took what is called “Uncle Orson’s Writing Workshop,” at UVSU. As I wrote in January 2010, Orson Scott Card was the author who began my journey and my love for reading. I clung to his novels all through my teen years, not reading any other author. When I did finally branch into different genres and authors, Card was the one I pitted them against. Did they have his style, his ability to use words in such a way as though images and characters sprung from the pages? Could another author keep my interest?

Obviously they could keep my interest, and I found that every author has a unique voice. My passion for literature grew, but it was Card that began the whole process. And now I was sitting in a conference room listening to him speak to well over 60 writers who were all looking for him to guide them down his path.

I could write about all the tidbits of information on writing he gave us, but I feel as though that would be stealing his information. Instead I would like to write here about the things he said that gave me hope.

1- Forget everything you were taught in school on how to write. It took me two years after my Master’s degree to write anything good. You each have a unique voice, use it.

This, for me, was such a delight to hear. My style of writing has never been very academic or elite and I have paid for this in my educational undertakings. But to hear him say this made my heart leap. It wasn’t a matter of a rigged rule on how to write, but the idea that your voice is important and it is in the refining of that voice that each story will take shape.

2- Ideas are cheap.

So many of my friends have ideas for stories. I have heard the telling of idea upon idea, and yet I have never seen a written word on a page from these ideas (minus the rare exception). So if “Ideas are cheap,” action must be priceless. I have written a few of my stories down and it is now high time that I kick my butt in gear and begin sending them off to publishers.

3- You are a fellow skeptic, and I mean that as a compliment.

On the last day of the workshop, Card agreed to sign books and take a few photos with people. Standing in line, seeing all the others with there crisp hard cover additions, I stared at the two books in my hand. As I placed the books in front of Card I told him I was sorry they were a bit bruised. I handed him the mass-market additions of Ender’s Game and Xenocide I have held onto since I was 13. As he signed them, he said to me that I was a skeptic and that this was a good thing.

For eighteen years I have held onto Cards novels. And I am sure that they will continue to be in my possession well into the future. And as he said, I am a skeptic, always questioning the words placed before me, even his. But may I say, I cherish each and every question those words make me answer.

"The Devil drinks Shirley Temples"

Apparently, I am in the mode to read books that contain mind altering beverages. After finishing the lovely story of Dandelion Wine, I moved my taste buds to another author--I must admit--I usually don't read. Tom Robbins, though a great writer, is not my favorite. I have read a couple of his novels and it's a personal preference of mine not to read more. But when one is handed a book to read by a fellow colleague, then one holds onto that book for a month and doesn't read a word, I found myself in an unusual predicament: To read or not read Tom Robbins.

In the end the cover struck me: "A Grown-up book for children" or "A Children's Book for Grown-ups." How could I--a person that is adamant the children's literature genre is not just for kids--pass by this opportunity. And so I focused, walked down to my office--local coffee shop--and opened the book "B is for Beer."

Looking back on it, I should have opened a cold brew from my fridge and sipped while reading this funny story that was such an educational delight. Working in the industry of beer slinging (yes people, I am a server at a brew pub), I found this text more educational then my one day early morning brew training.

Plus, Robbins did an excellent job of showing the unusual similarities and differences of youth and adult, society and reality, and the nuances and stereotypes of alcohol. In two hours I had completed the story and laughed more than I have with a book in a long time. Plus, who can resist the excellent line, "The Devil drinks Shirley Temples." (p.63)--one of my favorite drinks by the way.

No this is not a book for children--though I do think they would see the humor--but it shows not all children's books are for kids, some are for grown-ups.

And I must say I will recommend this Tom Robbins book to others. Plus, I will be using its insightful information on beer to help achieve a higher tip percentage.

A Taste of "Dandelion Wine"

I am a firm believer that books call to a person. They sit on the shelf waiting the time to beckon their information to a reader, give a guiding hand, or clear the fog around a few of life's mysteries. Our only job as readers is to listen and keep an open mind. It doesn't matter if the book is new or one already read; for the stages in every persons life allot for discovery and re-discovery.

Reading Ray Bradbury's "Dandelion Wine" came at a time that synced with all that was going on in my life and all the changes I didn't know how to handle. As my mother says, "this is a book that should be read every ten years." Different from Bradbury's science fiction style, the novel is a coming of age story, not just for youth, but for every age of life: youth, teen, adult, elderly. It encompasses life's change at every age in every dimension, desire, and trepidation. It depicts those defining moments.

This year I began volunteering with a hospice and family care company. I found myself conducting and piecing together the oral history of a fabulous woman who just turned 99. A five month adventure of listening to a strangers life opened my eyes and gave me insights into my own life and the inability to stop age.

As spring jumped to life so did "Dandelion Wine" spring into my outstretched hand. When not reading, I took the book with me everywhere I went in my purse: Go to pay for a coffee and there it was, reach for my phone to talk to a friend, and my fingers fumbled across the curve and spine of "Dandelion Wine." I read it slowly and absorbed every chapter with each word pouring from my silently spoken lips.

Reading this novel, I kept a pen in hand and found myself underlying passages left and right. Each passage opened new thoughts to the oral history I was working on, as well as my new found age phobia. I recognized my luck and the importance of what I was doing. The more the chapters passed by the more I felt this was Bradbury's "Peter Pan." Only the ticking crocodile of time wasn't just chasing Hook, but all the lost boys in turn, ready to eat each whole without thought or concern.

As Doug says in the book, "The magic was always in the new pair..."(p.20). Doug was referring to summer sneakers, but the realty is that life is magical with each new step a person takes. It's not just our first steps that should be recorded, it's our fifth, our sixteenth, our twenty-first, our thirtieth, and our ninety-ninth that need to be preserved so when the time comes it's possible to uncork them and take just a small sip to remember and then move forward. It is our self discovery at every age that is important, because as Grandpa states, "It was over before it began..." (p.237). In short, enjoy it or life will pass you by.

And so I take the words of "Dandelion Wine" to my memory box, bottled away to ponder, and maybe in another few years I will uncork this master piece again and taste a sip of "Dandelion Wine" with my next stage of life.

Bradbury, Ray. "Dandelion Wine," The Grand Master Editons, Bantam Books. New York: 1976